Union Budget 2021: History & trivia about Indian Union Budget ahead of presentation today

The Union Budget 2021 will be presented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Monday at 11 am. This year's Union Budget will be extra special because Nirmala Sitharaman earlier had promised a "never before" like Union Bidget as the government plans to steer the pandemic-battered economy and push growth. While investment in health, medical Research & Development (R&D) and developing greater skills to handle telemedicine is going to be critical, livelihood challenges would have to be seen in a newer canvas with a newer perspective on vocational training and skill development

With a history of 161 years, the Indian Union Budget is known to be the largest budget in the world and it is prepared by the concerned department of economic affairs of the Ministry of Finance every year. Ahead of the Union Budget 2021 which is set to be presented in the Parliament at 11 am, here are some interesting facts about it. 

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Interesting facts about Indian Union Budget

The First Budget

The first Union Budget of India was presented on February 18, 1860, Finance Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council of India, Scotsman James Wilson. Wilson is also known as the founder of The Economist as well as of the Chartered Bank, which later went on to merge with the Standard Bank in 1969. 

The Budget Briefcase

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2019, abandoned the years-old tradition of the budget briefcase and switched to a more local "bahi khata" (ledger). Earlier, the budget briefcase used to be an integral part of the Budget Day and it was a tradition that was inherited from the UK, where it was started by budget chief Willian Gladstone, whose speeches were so long that a briefcase was needed to accommodate all his papers. 

The Black Budget

The 1973-74 budget was presented during severe economic stress, coming in the wake of a failed monsoon and the 1971 Bangladesh war. It was termed the Black Budget for the deficit of Rs 550 crore it showed and the plan to nationalize general insurance companies and coal mines.

The Basement 

Earlier the budget documents used to be printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan till there was a leak in 1950. The following year, budget document printing was shifted to a press on Minto Road and then to the basement of North Block, which then became the permanent venue for the printing press of budget paper. 

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The Highest Number of Budgets Presented 

Former Finance Minister Moraji Desai had presented 10 Union Budgets in the Parliament, which is the highest by a single Finance Minister followed by P Chidambaram with 9 budgets. 

Longest Budget Speech 

Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2020 speech is the longest in terms of duration in Indian history. She had begun her speech at 11 am and continued for close to 3 hours, ending at about 1:40 pm. The Finance Minister has spoken for approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. Just when the last 2 pages of her speech were left, Sitharaman had opted to cut short her Budget speech as she felt unwell after speaking for a record 160 minutes in the Lok Sabha. 

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The longest Budget speech by words was delivered by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. During his tenure as the Finance Minister in 1991, Manmohan Singh's speech comprised of 18,650 words. Meanwhile, the shortest speech comprising of 800 words was given by Home Minister Patel in 1977 while delivering the interim Budget. 

Union Budget Presentation Timings

Until 2000, the Budget was presented in Parliament at 5 pm on the last working day of February. But later in 2001, the Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha change the timings and since then the Budget is presented at 11 am. 

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Language

Until 1955, the Union Budget was presented in English. However, the Congress-led government in 1956 decided to print the Budget papers in both Hindi and English. 

First Women Finance Minister

Indira Gandhi was the first women's Finance Miniter to present the Indian Union Budget in 1970. 

First Paperless Budget 

Marking a first, the Centre has decided not to print documents related to the Union Budget for the fiscal beginning of April (FY 2021-22). All MPs will get soft copies of the budget and Economic Survey that contains an account of the state of the economy. The Budget documents will be available on the Mobile App - “Union Budget Mobile App” after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on 1st February 2021.

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